No. 3: Memphis Grizzlies playing better team basketball than Golden State
The Grizzlies, when Ja Morant is out, play fantastic team basketball. They can play with pace or they can slow things down and torment defenses with a half-court slog.
It all starts with veteran Tyus Jones, who led the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio during the regular season. The man takes care of the ball and creates shot opportunities for his teammates.
In Game 5, the Grizzlies enjoyed 21 points from Jackson Jr., Bane, and Jones. Having multiple players scoring 20+ Points has to give opposing defenses fits. Sharing the basketball like that is a big reason why the Grizzlies did so well.
Golden State tends to become way too complacent letting Stephen Curry do his thing and score the ball. Same for Klay Thompson. Those are two of the great shooters we have in the game today, but having their teammates just stand around and watch them do their thing is not good at all.
The Grizzlies have been just the opposite, dishing out dozens and dozens of assists. Steven Adams often does a great job of getting the ball at the top of the key and letting a play develop and threading the needle to find a cutting Grizzlies teammate.
If the Grizzlies can rack up more assists than Golden State field goal attempts (as they did in Game 5), they are going to be in a great spot to win again.